


Waters that drowned the spirits

by Lucynda_Raciak



Series: Stories from the Old World [7]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Alcohol, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Angst, Anorexia, Attempted Murder, Buggy is 17, Buggy is traumatised, Buggy joins Whitebeard Pirates AU, Depression, Garotte, Gen, Gold Roger bar, Headcanon, I can make another one-shot about it, Loguetown, Marco cares, Marco is 23, Marco isn't a Commander yet, Mourning, Necrophilic creep, No actual necrophilia, Olivia is an OC, Post-Roger's execution, Raoul is Not, Shanks is also depressed, Venecia is an OC, but he left, he is anime-only character, or any sexual intercourse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-17 12:21:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28599894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lucynda_Raciak/pseuds/Lucynda_Raciak
Summary: Marco came to East Blue. He didn't think that he would meet a familiar face, especially in this state.Headcanon: All Roger Pirates got depressed after Roger's death. Buggy wasn't coping with it very well.
Relationships: Akagami no Shanks | Red-Haired Shanks & Buggy, Buggy & Raoul (One Piece), Fushichou Marco | Phoenix Marco & Buggy, Fushichou Marco | Phoenix Marco & Raoul (One Piece)
Series: Stories from the Old World [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1739725
Comments: 16
Kudos: 42





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this is a gift for "k" a guest reviewer who requested Buggy angst so here it is.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marco visits Loguetown  
> Buggy saves the day  
> Raoul helps kids

**One Piece:**

**WATERS THAT DROWNED THE SPIRITS**

The stories from the Old World series

_by Lucynda Raciak_

* * *

#  **| Waters that drowned the spirits |**

Marco grimaced when another man bumped into him on the streets of Loguetown.

"Watch where you going, brat!" the man growled and Marco needed to force himself not to bark back. He wasn't supposed to be recognised. Sure, he knew how to take care of himself and as a New World Pirate, member of Whitebeard's crew, he would be able to beat the crap of any of the small fries.

That being said this was the Logue Town, currently the city with the highest level of high ranking marines on Four Blues. Ever since Roger's execution 2 years ago the place became the breeding ground for piracy. Sailors of all kinds came here to see the famous platform where the Pirate King was butchered and left his legacy. The place became crime-ridden and in a span of a few months, the beautiful city turned into a shithole. The Navy sent FIVE Paradise-Quality Vice Admirals to station here just to stop the chaos and Marco knew that in the worst-case scenario he could get captured.

He made sure that his hood was sitting firmly on his head and tried to make himself look smaller. Most Four Bluers weren't familiar with Grand Line wanted posters and only more or less recognised Emperors' flags, captains and maybe a few commanders not really bothering with individual crewmembers but it was better to be safe than sorry. Not to mention that Commander Vencia would kick his ass if Marco fucked up such an easy job.

This didn't help him much.

"Where do you think you're going, brat! Kids these days don't have any manners at all. When you bumped into someone you need to say sorry." Apparently, the jackass (who bummed into HIM not the other way around) expected Marco to grovel at his feet and apologise by kissing his piss-stinking boots.

Marco was about to UNO reverse the guy when he saw a marine patrol and cursed his luck. He allowed the group to push him into a dead-end alley. Crap, he was surrounded. He wasn't still at disadvantage, as he was still much stronger than all of them combined, but the fact that he allowed himself to get into this point was embarrassing.

"Didn't you hear the boss, brat?" said one of the lackeys. "On your knees!"

The thug on Marco's left laughed. The Phoenix glared at him and the man flinched. Some primal part of him must have recognised the danger because he took a step back.

"Hey, Tom, don't puss out! We need to show this kid not to piss off pirates!"

Marco couldn't help it. He laughed at the irony of the statement. And ok, it might have come out a bit creepy but they were seriously asking for it!

"This is some insane brat, get him!" yelled the leader. His gang was reluctant but they followed the command and charged at him. Marco was almost dancing as he dodged the angry thugs. At some point one of them impaled him on a sword... wow he allowed himself to get too relaxed, didn't he?

The thug screamed in pure horror as Marco's wound burned with blue-yellow fire.

"He's one of those Vegetable Demons!"

'It's Devil Fruit.' thought Marco.

"He's going to kill us!"

'I don't even care about you, guys. Why would I even bother with killing you?'

"Hey, where are you going?!" yelled the leader as he watched his crew running away.

'I wouldn't be loyal to the likes of you either.'

The leader guy turned again towards Marco, murder in his eyes.

“You fucking demon!” he growled, he looked Marco deep into the eyes… and ran away.

Marco snorted. He almost felt some pity towards the guy.

Suddenly he felt a pull and a garotte was on his throat and a familiar feeling of weakness came.

'Seastone!'

“You must be one of the big guys, huh?” asked his attacker. “I’m going to make sure the marines have your cold corpse.”

Marco used all the strength he still had left to fight off the man. His fists went flying into the air in hopes to injure the opponent. He tried to kick the feet below but it was all for nothing. The wire was tightening on his throat and the air was running out. He was losing the battle against the thug. His vision was getting blurry.

'Fuck!' he cursed in his mind. Not only was he going one East Blue, of all places, killed by some no-name shit-for-face but he was going to die alone, far away from Pops and his family.

He felt a tongue on his ear and then heard a giggle whisper.

“But before that, I’ll make sure it can rest in my arms. You’re a pretty boy, I’m sure you’ll feel nice and still nice!”

Oh great, not only was he going to die but he was going to be used as a pleasure device for some necrophilic creep!

Just before his legs lost any strength he heard the man behind him yelp in pain and suddenly the hold on his throat was gone. The seastone wire fell on the cobblestone and Marco almost with it. He turned around on his shaky legs.

He was scared. In this state, almost choked to death with the use of seastone he was extremely vulnerable. He put on his best furious expression. Even now, no bastard was going to-

He was greeted by a levitating hand holding a knife and a familiar voice.

"I cannot believe that you of all people get sloppy on East Blue of all places, Birdbrain."

Marco blinked as he saw a silhouette hidden in the darkest place of the alley.

"Clownboy? he asked, the shock was clear in his voice. Marco remembered. The two cabin boys were the first Roger Pirates he met. The three of them got into a lot of trouble and their captains were furious. Especially with Marco because he was 15 and should know better than drag two 9-year-olds to a Marine Base. This was actually how he got his wanted poster. During Kong's rule as the Marine Fleet Admiral, it was illegal to give out the wanted posters of children under 17 unless they did something really big. Marco stealing the Mythical Zoan Fruit and completely decimating their Base was probably one of those things.

He met Buggy (and Shanks by extension) a few other times. There was that one when Roger stole Oden from them and when Pops met with his rival for the last time. The young pirate was 14 at the time. The boy was hitting a growth spurt and finally reached Marco's collarbone. He wore that silly hat over his short blue hair.

"Sure, that's me." said the young man bitterly still sitting where he was. The hand flew past Whitebeard Pirate and reattached itself to the owner.

Marco went toward him on his shaky legs and kneeled in front of his friend to look better at him. It would be hard to recognise him if it weren't for his devil fruit ability... and a nose, but his face is well hidden under a spacious hood. His hair was longer, Marco noticed, but in a complete mess and very greasy. He was also taller. Probably a little shorter than the blonde. Definitely tall by standards of any regular-sized man. His clothes are just as dirty as the hair and for sure too small for post-puberty Clown.

"You should work on your Observation, Birdbrain" he said as he took a sip from a bottle that reeked of poor-quality alcohol.

"I guess, I should." Marco said quietly "You were always amazing at it, though."

For a few minutes he was silent.

"Clownboy, what happened to you?" he asked.

Buggy took a sip from the bottle again.

"That's what happens when you get attached to people and then they left you." Next, he laughed bitterly and it froze Marco's blood. He remembered always calling the two of Roger's cabin boys annoying but he actually really liked them, especially the more rational Buggy who seems to be a counterbalance to pure chaos that was represented by Shanks. The two, as different as they were, were inseparable. It was adorable when they were children. Shiki once said that he expected them to be great when they grew up. Both of them because they were supposed to be together. A co-captains of a new great crew that was going to take the world by storm.

But Buggy was alone.

"Where is Shanks?" he asked firmly.

"Not here." Buggy grunted out.

"Buggy." Marco dropped the nickname. "Where is-"

"Not here!" yelled the younger one "Can't you hear, you bloody turkey?! Or did the blood flow didn't return to your tiny Zoan brain?! Why do you even want to know where that disloyal bloodstained rat is?! And why is everything always about that bastard son of Kraken?! He left, okay?" With each word, his voice was becoming more hysterical and angry. He seemed to be in some sort of trace and finally Buggy's hand was in the air ready to hit the blonde but his fist was caught. Only now could Marco see how thin the boy was.

"Ocean dear, Buggy! You're smaller than Claus!" The young Whitebeard pirate might not have been a fully trained Doctor yet but he could see the malnutrition when he saw it!

"I'm alright, go away!" Buggy tried to get his fist away from the older man’s hold but he was too weak.

"You definitely are not!" Marco disagreed. He stood up and pulled the younger with him. "You're going with me."

"Like hell!"

"Stop being a brat!"

Marco was really considering throwing Buggy on his back like a sack of potatoes but it would put them into a spotlight and he hoped to avoid that. Not only would it compromise his mission but also put Buggy in danger. He knew the younger didn't have a bounty poster yet but marines definitely had him on the list as any other Roger Pirate.

“Come on, we need to leave the city before-”

“I’m not going with you anywhere!”

“Oh, that’s enough!”

A second later the unconscious boy was on the ground. He was about to take him on his back and go but he was stopped.

“What are you doing to that boy?”

In the entrance to the alley stood an elderly man. Marco could tell he was past his prime yet still strong.

“Get out of my way, old man, I don’t want to hurt you.” he said firmly.

The man took a better look at him and said.

“Oh, you are one of Whitebeard’s boys.”

“You know Pops?” Marco asked, surprised.

“I know of him. Rayleigh talked about him a bit when he left Roger’s boys here.”

If the guy knew Rayleigh he should be trustful, right? Marco shook his head, he still needed to be careful.

“Come on, boy, those thugs that just run away are going to return or they will rat you out to marines. They’re new, have no bounty.”

The man showed him the door just next to the entrance of the alley and they went inside. It was an old bar.

“Put Bug-boy on the booths on the left.” the man said as he went to the bar. Marco sized the man up with a suspicious eye but finally do as he was told and went up to the bar himself and sat on the stool.

“I’m Raoul, what would you like to drink, devil-boy?”

“I’m Marco. I feel like whisky will be great.”

After a few seconds, glass was in his hand.

“So… Rayleigh left Buggy and Shanks here?”

“They needed somewhere safe to hide and Roger and Rayleigh were sure the two would do everything to see the execution. Not to mention it’s darkest under a candle. Roger’s bunch thought it would be safer that way.”

Marco didn’t respond for a minute as he progressed the information. If it was Pops who would be executed, he would fly to Sphinx, and not even Rakuyo and Bay would be able to stop him.

“Where is the other one, then?” he finally asked.

“After Roger’s execution Redhead wanted to leave. He asked Bug-boy to go with him. I don’t believe he was ready. It was too early and he was in too much pain. They split up.”

Buggy and Shanks? Splitting up? How was that possible? He felt anger overwhelming him. How could Shanks leave Buggy? Yes, he could understand that the other one was probably in mourning after his captain and father figure but… he left Buggy. After Marco saw what state clown boy was…

How could Shanks leave his  **brother** like that?

“What are you going to do now?”

Marco blinked.

“Why are you asking me?”

“I can tell you want to take him with you.”

“I do.” he admitted, “But he needs to agree first.”

The man laughed.

“Then go, finish your mission and ask him when you return.”

“Right.” Marco said dryly. “Commander Vencia will tear me a new one if I fail.”

He finished his drink.

“I’ll be back.”

“I know.”

The door closed behind him and Raoul looked at Buggy who sat quietly on the booth looking at his hands.

“You heard him. Are you going to go with him?”

“I don’t know.” he said truthfully “I really don’t know.”

He had time before Marco’s return and he was going to spend it in a deep reverie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... a lot of depression. Btw, I'm not very salty at other Roger Pirates since I believe all of them had some serious issues after Roger died and each one of them was coping differently with it. Sure, they should have taken care of Shanks and Buggy. The two of them on the other hand should stay together not split up but not one of them was in good mental health so like I said I'm not super salty. Just a little.
> 
> I have this idea for a story where Buggy joins Whitebeard pirates, would you like to see it?
> 
> As always request welcomed, see you!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marco calls Moby Dick  
> Buggy have a mental breakdown  
> Raoul tells a story

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One reviewer asked me about time line and ages:  
> year 1492  
> \- Buggy and Shanks join Roger  
> year 1494  
> \- they met Marco for the first time  
> year 1498  
> \- Roger stole Oden  
> year 1499  
> \- Roger becomes Pirate King, The last meeting with Whitebeard  
> year 1500  
> \- Roger gets executed (at the age 53)  
> year 1502  
> \- Marco meets Buggy in Loguetown  
> \- Buggy is 17, Marco is 23. Calculate other ages if you want.

Marco finished his mission fast. It wasn’t hard at all aside from hiding from marine patrols. Then again he was on East Blue so what was he expecting.

“I guess Commander Venecia just wanted to send me as far as possible.” he muttered.

Before the task was assigned to him he played a trick on Rakuyo and Vista causing a prank war to break out and maybe, just maybe someone had burned part of Pops’ hair.

He put the memory aside. Buggy was now his priority. He really hoped his friend would join him on his way to Moby Dick.

‘Note to self, if he does we need a boat because Clownboy cannot fly in the state that he’s in and I’m not a fancy airline transport.’

He needed to call Pops first, though. Edward Newgate wasn’t generally opposed to his children bringing him more children but this was a sensitive issue. Buggy was once part of Roger Pirates, and there was no telling what the rest of the bunch would do if they heard Whitebeard adopted their cabin boy. Just because their captain was gone doesn’t mean Pops wanted a war with the crew.

‘If they don’t like it then they shouldn't have left him like that.’ thought Marco. He knew that Pirate King’s crew was hunted by the marines and they probably weren’t feeling very well after Roger died but they should have taken care of the two of their youngest.

Inu and Neko returned with Oden and his family to Wano (dude, you were supposed to go back to Moby!) so at least they were safe but Shanks and Buggy needed someone to take care of them. They had just lost their father.

Marco pulled out a den-den mushi and called the Moby Dick. After a few signals, it was answered and the sounds of music and parting filled his ear.

 _“Hi! Hey! Hello! You just called the Moby Dick! Best ship ever~!”_ cackled the person on the other side.

Marco almost groaned. Of course, it must have been the cauldron witch who picked it up!

“Hello to you too, witch, I see the party is going great.”

_“Oh, baby boy, how are ya?!”_

“I’m doing amazing. I finished my mission. Are Vista and Rakuyo back too?”

 _“Your other pranksters in crime are on their way too. Only you, baby boy, could make two Commanders start a prank war that got them kicked out of Moby for a mission.”_ the woman laughed.

"That's good to hear." he said and took a deep breath as he decided it was time to talk about the most important issue. "Commander Olivia,” he said seriously “during my mission I ran into someone."

 _"Really, baby boy? Tell me what happened."_ she was still acting a bit jolly, though.

"I will but I hope you can get Pops and Commander Venecia on it too. They should hear about it as well."

Olivia was quiet for a few seconds.

_"It's something serious, right? Tell me, Marco, are you hurt?"_

'Great!’ he thought ‘Now she’s using my name instead of that stupid nickname.’

"Not really. There was this one guy who came close with a seastone garotte-"

_"What?!"_

"-but he's dead already."

Olivia sighed.

_"Venecia is going to take a look at you when you return."_

"Oh come on, the earliest date I can be back is in another 3 weeks! There'll be nothing he can loo-"

_"Don't backtalk to me, Marco, or I'll make sure that the only mission you'll get from Venecia will be cleaning the main deck!"_

She wasn't kidding! Their resident cauldron witch always kept her promises.

"Okay…"

_"Now wait, baby boy, and I'll go get the big guys!"_

For a minute or two, Marco was once again rehearsing what he wanted to tell his superiors.

 _“Baby boy called.”_ he heard from the other side as finally, Olivia found Pops and Venecia. _“He finished his punishment on East Blue but apparently something happened and wanted to talk to you, Ed.”_

“Gurarara, give me that silly brat.”

“Hi, Pops!” he greeted “Hi Commander!”

 _“Hello to you to bird brat.”_ said Venecia _“What do you have for us?”_

“Umm… When I came to Loguetown-” he started explaining everything that happened “Pops” he finally said, “He’s in a really bad place I cannot just leave him like that.”

_“I understand son, take him with you if he wishes so. If Rayleigh and Copper want to fight, they can come. It’s payback for Oden anyway!”_

Marco sweatdropped.

“Really, Pops?”

_“I’m a pirate, son, I can be petty if I want to.”_

Marco laughed.

“Bye Pops, Venecia… oh and you too witch!” he cackled and ended the call.

Now he needed to go back to Raoul’s bar.

* * *

When Marco came back he saw Clownboy sitting at the table and eating fried chicken with potatoes and broccoli.

‘Good. He needs food.’ he thought.

“I see you’re up.” he greeted and sat in front of him.

“I see you’re back.” he replied.

He seemed to put on a brave face but Marco could tell how unsure he was.

“I called Pops and a few others.”

Buggy looked up at him.

“What did you and the big guy talk about?”

Marco sighed. He really hoped Buggy would agree and come with him.

“I told him I met you. If you want to join-”

Buggy cut him off

“You know perfectly-” his voice was firm “that I will never call him ‘father’.”

“I know.” Marco agreed. “But you need help, Clownboy, and I wish to help you. If you want you can leave whenever you want. Pops is not like that.”

Buggy sighed and his tense shoulders fell.

“I know.”

Marco wasn't sure if it was a response to the first or the second part of his statement.

“Look, Buggy.” he tried to sound as reasonable as possible. “I’m your friend and friends hel-”

In a second younger man’s eyes lit up with fury. He stood up and smashed his right fist against the wooden table while the back of his left hand smashed the food on the floor.

“SHUT UP!” he yelled.

Marco yelped in surprise at the sudden change of conversation.

“I DON’T NEED ANYONE! YOU’RE JUST LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE! YOU SAY ALL THOSE NICE THINGS BUT YOU MEAN NONE OF THEM! YOU’LL LEAVE LIKE THEM DID AND-” a fit of couth stopped the rant in half. Buggy’s left hand went to his throat as if to help himself with a soreness. His right hand, thus far huddled into a fist was now used to brace himself from falling. It was trembling dangerously.

‘He’s so thin even such little amount of movement and stress is dangerous for him’ Marco was scared too noticed.

“By the Skull! Buggy, are you alright?!”

“Khy! Khy! Gwo aghwy!'' The younger one tried to scream again, but the only thing that left his mouth was a weak squawk and a second later his eyes rolled back to his skull. If Marco was slightly slower, the teenager would have fallen on the wooden table into smashed food waste.

“Sweet winds…” Marco gasped. He knew Buggy was thin but when he carried him into the bar he was too distracted to realize how light he was. “He’s like a bag of feathers.”

‘And it’s all because he was here alone with no one to raise him up.’

Marco’s eyes darkened as he remembered Buggy’s rant. It didn’t matter how long it was going to take. He was going to find all of the previous members of Roger’s crew, kick their asses and made them apologise.

“Did he faint again?” asked Raoul behind him. He didn’t even wait for Marco’s response “Get him upstairs to his room. It’s the last one on the left.” Marco went upstairs and found a room. When he opened the room he couldn’t help but flinch. The place looked almost unused. Was it even wise to trust Raoul?

No, this didn’t make sense… he found Buggy sitting outside his bar and when the Clownboy woke up he stayed there and even ate something that was given to him. He was always smarter than everyone around him and he wouldn’t fall for an obvious trap.

Then again, he was malnourished and deeply in depression. Expecting him to be rational was irrational.

Ok, what did he know about Raoul?

He owned a bar next to which he found Buggy

Buggy didn’t leave the location after he woke up.

Raoul’s explanation of what happened to Shanks matched what Buggy said (as little as it was) and his behaviour.

According to Raoul Rayleigh left Buggy and Shanks here, so they could be safe and not chase after Roger.

He also called them “Roger’s boys”.

That calmed Marco down. The two cabin boys had a tendency to call their captain “dad” at some occasions, mostly when they were upset although they made sure not to say it while in the presence of strangers or enemies. Whitebeard Pirates were one of few who knew how much care was between the father-sons trio. If Raoul called them that he must have been at least private to some information.

Marco sighed. He would have to have a talk with a man. Just in case. If he needed to escape with Buggy he needed to make sure who he could trust even just a little.

He walked downstairs and sat at the bar.

“You know,” he said, starting the conversation “you won’t earn any money if you keep the bar closed.”

“I have little need for gold, devil-boy.”

“Oh, really?” Marco asked. He couldn’t get swayed by pretty words.

Raoul sighed.

“Would you like to hear a story?”

“Who knows? Speak up.”

* * *

_40 years ago, year 1462_

_“Get him!” yelled a man dressed in dark clothes with a red bandana on his right arm. His gang, in the same clothes, rushed at the teenager with a straw hat. The young man laughed and ran, the bunch after him. He travelled the city with a finesse known only to alley cats._

_“He turned into a dead-end alley! That’s our chance!” yelled the leader following the chase. The teenager didn’t stop running even when the wall was closer and closer to him and then he jumped._

_Never before had he saw anyone jump that high. His prey disappeared behind the high wall._

_“He’s on the other side!”_

_The gang ran the other way around._

_“I see him!” yelled the tallest of the thugs “He’s on the roof!”_

_“Oh fuck!” cursed the young man. He tried to mislead them and then go back on the original path but he was spotted. He started running again. He tried to lose them again only to get surrounded._

_“You have nowhere left to run, Gol!” snarled the leader. “Now give back what you stole, you little thief!”_

_The teenager turned to look at one of the thug squares in the eyes._

_“I’m disappointed Al.” his voice was filled with loathing “To become some cheap guard for a bastard that smuggles drugs? I thought it was below you?”_

_The leader looked at one of his thugs, a new guy called Aldford who looked at Gol brat with hard eyes._

_“You know Gol, Ford?”_

_“We spent time in the same orphanage.” Aldford said dryly._

_“I hope you aren’t chickening on me, are you, Ford? Or I swear on Great Red, I’ll cut off every finger you have.”_

_“I would never dream of it, boss.”_

_The fight started and wasn’t a Gol brat a tricky little shit? He was like a wind, untouchable and swift. In a matter of seconds the whole group, except the leader, second in command and Aldford, were on the ground unconscious. But it also took a second when the brat yelled in pain. Behind him stood his previous orphanage mate. A knife stained in blood in his hand._

_He pointed the weapon at Gol._

_“Goodbye, Roger, I’ll be happy to see you gone.” said Aldford._

_Roger ran. He needed to get away or he would die. The blood loss was too overwhelming. He needed to hide. He was lucky he was a much better runner than the members of Red Wolf. Even with a wound, he was able to outrun them. Previously it was a much more difficult task as they had bigger numbers and could easily surround him but now with only 3 of them left?_

_“Fuck!” he cursed as he almost fell on the ground. The bastards were behind but he could already hear them getting close._

_Suddenly he saw one of the boathouses was open. Someone was inside but maybe they would help him. He wasn’t very well known in this part of the city. He ran inside and almost collided with a tall broad man._

_“Hide me!” he whisper-yelled and sat behind barrels in the corner._

_The thugs were closing in. They were just in front of the building._

_“Where do you think you’re going, boys?” asked the unfamiliar voice, probably the tall-guy._

_“Get out of the way, Raoul!” barked the leader “Gol brat must have come here! We’re looking for him!”_

_“Mallory.” The tall guy said firmly “No one has come here and I’m not letting you in. Boss doesn’t like the Red Wolf and prefers to get Albatrosses as the guards. If he sees you here I’ll be kicked out!”_

_“Come on, Raoul, I've known you since you helped at Three-eyed Skull! I’ll just check the inside and I’m gone!”_

_“No way, Mallory. You know I need the money t-.”_

_Roger didn’t hear more as his eyes closed._

* * *

“So…” Marco finally said “You helped a teenage Pirate King?”

“Nah, I helped a poor street rat known as the Gol brat.”

* * *

_Roger woke up in an unknown location._

_“Don’t stand up!” said the voice on his left “Your wound will reopen.”_

_“Umm… okay?”_

_The man (Roger was sure his name was Raoul) helped him sit up and gave him a mug with a warm, bitter liquid._

_“Ewww” he stuck out his tongue to show his disgust._

_“Drink it all up!” said the man sharply “It’ll help you heal.”_

_Roger muttered something about disgusting medicines and put the mug to his mouth again. When he finished the silence fell._

_“Why did you help me?” he finally asked._

_“Because you asked me?” Raoul rolled his eyes._

_“Yeah, sure. But you didn’t have to. You could tell them.”_

_“Sure I could but that way I wouldn’t get anything from you in return.”_

* * *

“Did you blackmail Roger? By what miracle were you his friend?”

“I didn’t blackmail him. The story is not over yet, devil-boy!”

* * *

_“I don’t have any money.”_

_“I have no need for gold.”_

_“That’s not what you said to the Red Wolf leader.”_

_Raoul rolled his eyes._

_“I need a job and some cash like everybody else but I’m not some greedy bastard!”_

_Roger’s eyes opened widely and he gasped._

_“So you want my virginity!”_

_“I’M NOT A PEDOPHILE EITHER!”_

* * *

“Are you not?”

“What sort of tone is that?!”

“Well, I mean you help a lot of minors…”

“It’s common decency to help kids! Now stop interrupting!”

* * *

_“What I want from you is your story.”_

_“Story?” asked surprised Roger._

_“Yes, exactly. I love hearing them and collecting them. When I open my bar I’ll make sure all those weird people who travelled the world can visit and they get a discount if they tell me their story.”_

_"But… I don't have a story…"_

_Raoul laughed._

_"Surely you had some adventures you could tell me about."_

_Roger shook his head._

_Raoul sighed. He hoped he would listen to something interesting for once. Recently there was nothing interesting going on._

_“How about that.” he finally said “I’m going to open a bar in a few years. You go live your life as if it was a book and when you return you’ll tell me all about it.”_

* * *

“You’re trying to make me believe you made a Pirate King want to be a pirate?”

“Not really but who knows? He was 15 at the time and left Polestar a few years later.

* * *

_38 years ago, year 1464_

_“Raoul!” A familiar face ran into the boathouse. Raoul blinked and gave his boss an apologising look._

_“Roger? What are you doing here?”_

_“Umm… remember when a few days ago you told me about this fisherman Rayleigh guy?”_

_“Yes… what did you do?”_

_“I offered him a place on my pirate crew!” the kid said and his eyes shone like stars. A few of Raoul’s coworkers snickered. It was well known that Roger was a menace but a good person non the less. Roger gave them a dirty look and looked back at his friend “But I may or may not get myself involved with a murder.”_

_Everybody froze._

_“How?” asked finally Raoul._

_“Umm… I invited Rayleigh to the bar to tell him about my plans and all that but when I was waiting for him I needed to take a leak. And the toilet was clogged and the bartender told me to go outside and piss there and so I did and then I saw some Red Wolves murdering this one guy and they saw me and now some people think I’m involved with them…”_

_“Ocean dear…” muttered Raoul and a few people facepalmed. Murders happened quite often in the city as cold and cruel as Loguetown but the marines still took it seriously and no one really wanted to see Roger got stuck in prison for seeing a murder. “Can’t you just explain the situation?” he asked again. The last time Roger committed any crime (read steal and pickpocket) was a few years ago and he wasn’t even listed by the marines._

_“I guess but the guy who saw me was this new Warrant and we kinda beat the crap out of each other and-”_

_“THERE YOU ARE!”_

_A man in a marine uniform stood in the entrance of the boathouse._

_“I CAUGHT YOU, YOU CRIMINAL!”_

_Raoul’s boss shot him an annoyed look but he turned to a young marine._

_“Look, kid, Roger told us what happened and we know him, he definitely didn’t kill anybody.”_

_“What kill?” asked the marine making everybody around them fall on the ground. Even Roger looked lost._

_“Then why are you chasing me?!” he yelled._

_“For pissing in a public place! My eyes will never unsee another man’s dick!”_

_“ARE YOU SERIOUS?!”_

_“NOW PREPARE FOR JUSTICE!”_

_“Right… okay.” Roger deadpanned “Raoul’s boss! I’m borrowing supplies and Rayleigh!” he yelled and started running._

_“HEY! GET BACK HERE!_

_The young marine ran after Roger and the remaining day was peaceful not counting the moment when the same Warrant took a warship to chase Roger and Rayleigh who were in a small sailing boat. At the end of the day, he was reprimanded by his superiors but never kicked out._

_Good because now he’s a marine hero._

* * *

“This is the most ridiculous story I have ever heard!”

“And?”

“Definitely something those two insane bastards would have been involved with, please continue.”

“There is much else there.” Raoul laughed “Roger returned years later to Loguetown and returned the ‘borrowed supplies’ to my old boss and gave me his story. It was just before his last voyage before they called him King. I met his crew, at least those who were with him at that time. When I heard he was captured I was quite surprised but not as much when I met with Rayleigh who asked me to take the boys in. He paid me a lifetime by telling me the greatest _laughing tale_ one could ever tell”

Marco froze.

“He told you about One Piece.” he whispered.

Raoul only shrugged his arms.

“As you can see I’m not running to the marines with that information. I’m going to take it to my grave… although it would be nice for someone to find it again.”

“So you agreed to take them in.” Marco finally said and something dark appeared in his eyes. “Then tell me, why is Buggy in such a state? How is that he’s a walking skeleton when he was supposed to be safe here.” his voice was hard, dripping with cold fury.

Raoul didn’t even blink and looked him square into the eyes.

“When Redhead and Bug-boy had they fight they split up.”

“I know that already!”

“Then listen.” Raoul hissed. “Bug-boy returned here and waited three days for the Redhead to return. When he didn’t we looked for him. It took us a week to realize he was no longer on the island.”

The Whitebeard pirate felt his fury being redirected at Shanks.

“Bug-boy ran away the next. He tried to find Redhead but it was all for nothing. When he returned he looked bad. I tried to get him to eat but he ran away again and when I saw him again he told me he tried going to the Grand Line.”

Marco almost choked.

“Grand Line? Alone?”

“That was my reaction as well.” Raoul agreed. “Ever since that happened he runs away and tries again. Over and over and over again.”

“Shouldn’t you stop him?”

“I would love to, devil-boy, but that kid is not only a devil-fruit user but also extremely smart. I could chain him with a seastone to a wall and look away for a minute and he would be free.”

Marco felt his heart drop.

“There is nothing I can do for him.” said Raoul solemnly. “But I hope you do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually feel really bad about writting the flashback for Roger because after reading it again I was like "Oda will do it better." The only part I'm happy about is when Garp appears because I can write Garp and I love him. I actually thought of yeeting the entire flashback sequence as a new story but finaly decided otherwise. Tell me what you think, and how can I improve!  
> Till next time!


End file.
